Exodus 9:8

Concerning the plague of boils that was brought upon the Egyptians, the Bible says in Exodus 9:8-12, “And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.” One of the lessons found here is the fact that God gives life and God gives health. He also takes away life and He takes away health from individuals when He so chooses. If God has given you good health, it is for a purpose. Make sure you use the opportunity while you have it. One of the ways that Jesus proved that He was God was by demonstrating His mastery over the health of human bodies. The Bible says in Matthew 11:4-5, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Christians are told in James 5:14-15, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

The Bible says in Exodus 9:13-21, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.”

It is very interesting to notice what God said to Pharaoh in Exodus 9:16. God said, “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” Pharaoh had a hard heart against God. Pharaoh did not know nor serve God, and yet Pharaoh was raised up by God. The hand of God was involved in what kind of person Pharaoh was. The truth is this: everyone and everything in this earth has a purpose. The wicked have a purpose somehow in the will of God. They will all show forth the glory of God and of Christ. We may have to wait until the judgment to see how that purpose was fulfilled, but it will be fulfilled. This world is in God’s hands. It moves according to His will. The Bible says in Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” It also says in Philippians 2:11-12, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

It is also interesting to notice what is said in Exodus 9:20-21, “He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.” Even though Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened, some of the Egyptian people were starting to be touched by God and by His Word. They were hearing the truth from Moses and Aaron, they were seeing what was happening, and some of them were being touched. That is how the gospel is spread. Let your light shine, as Jesus said, and someone will be touched. Those who “feared” the word of the Lord, escaped from the judgment. But the judgment fell on those who “regarded not” the word of the Lord. This spiritual principle has always worked this way and always will. It worked this way when only those who entered into Noah’s ark were saved; and it will work this way when the whole world discovers that only those who trust in Jesus are saved from the wrath to come. Jesus is the living Word. Only those who “fear” the Word of the Lord will escape the judgment. The Bible says in Psalm 2:11, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” And it says in Psalm 9:20, “Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” It says in Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” Here is a prayer that we all should have: Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.” It says in the New Testament in Revelation 15:4, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”

The Bible says in Exodus 9:22-26, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.” This time God brought the greatest of all hail storms and of all thunder storms upon Egypt. Hail and thunder and lightening can be very frightening and very destructive. The next time that you experience a bad thunderstorm, remember that God brings the storms as well as the calm, and He has a purpose for both. God is in control of nature and of all things on this earth. That is the lesson that was being taught to the Egyptians, to Pharaoh, and to the children of Israel.

We see with this latest plague a spiritual principle that takes place many times in life, and that is similar with the other plagues. There are various reasons that terrible things might happen around us in the world. One of those reasons is God’s judgment that is brought against sin. God is angry against sin. God does punish sin. God brings judgment when human beings continue in their sin, and continue to harden their hearts. Even Christians will be punished should they allow sin to reign over them. It says in First Corinthians 11:30-32, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

In the future during the time of the Great Tribulation a plague will come to the world that will be very similar to this plague of hail that came to Egypt. It says in Revelation 8:7, “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”

The Bible says in Exodus 9:27-35, “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD's. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rice were not smitten: for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.” Pharaoh continued a pattern of lying as a part of his reaction to try and get out of the plagues. Pharaoh came to a conclusion that many people have come to in the world: just lie. Many people who do not serve Jesus are liars. They foolishly think that they will gain from lying. Since they reject the truth from God, the Lie gets a hold of them. Jesus said in John 8:32, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Exodus 9:34 says, “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” In other words Pharaoh never had a true change of heart. If Pharaoh had a true change of heart, then his actions would have proved it. It says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Good works do not bring salvation, but if someone is saved by faith in Christ, good works will always come after they are saved. That is because repentance involves a desire to start doing the right thing. John the Baptist realized this problem of some of the people that came to receive his baptism. John is quoted in Luke 3:7-8, “Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

Make sure that you have truly repented and turned to Jesus. And then the question to ask is this: Do your works prove that you are a new creation in Christ?

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